The economic slowdown in Europe and the disruption caused by geopolitical crises means France’s rail freight players have been largely marking time since the start of the year, according to CEO of DB Cargo France, Alexandre Gallo. However, combined transport remains buoyant.
“There is little new on the market”, Gallo told RailFreight.com in an interview. “In my view, 2026 will not necessarily be a year of major developments but rather one of consolidating the status quo.”
He explained that the first four months of the year had been challenging. In terms of international traffic, the closure of the Rubi Tunnel, in Spain, (it has since re-opened partially), continued to pose problems and has prevented DB Cargo France from rolling out the ambitious development programme it had planned for Spain.
“This is unfortunate because the market potential is there, especially given the additional operating costs incurred by road haulage currently, linked to rising fuel prices.”
At the end of last month the tunnel reopened, albeit with considerable restrictions, which are scheduled to remain in place until the end of June.
Despite these restrictions, DB Cargo France is looking to operate 100% of its round trips for finished vehicle transport between Barcelona and Mannheim and 95% of its combined transport service between Barcelona and Ludwigshafen.
According to Spain’s rail infrastructure manager Adif, the second track through the tunnel is expected to be brought into service by the end of next month.
Shippers ‘wait and see’ attitude
Gallo went on to highlight the “considerable uncertainty” amongst shippers, linked both to the oil crisis, the European economic slowdown and to the war in Ukraine. “The prevailing attitude is one of ‘wait and see’ and is weighing on the launch of new services”, he said.
This has led DB Cargo France to postpone the launch of its proposed France-UK combi service, linking Paris-Valenton and Daventry, (in Northamptonshire, England), as the required volume commitments have not materialised.
On the other hand, the combined transport operators that DB Cargo France is working with are seeing their trains running at high capacity, no doubt due to the high price of diesel, Gallo noted. “It’s a pity this is not translating into additional services.”
Elevated oil prices are also leading to a sharp rise in demand from oil and chemical companies for ‘spot’ trains, according to Gallo, as supply chains are being adapted to accommodate changes in refinery locations.
Expensive rolling stock
Turning to the issue of rolling stock, Gallo claimed that there are too few manufacturers of locomotives and spare parts suppliers in Europe and that this is driving up prices.
“Alstom’s takeover of Bombardier has not improved market conditions. Locomotives that cost 4 million euros before the COVID-19 pandemic and 6.5 million euros before the Ukraine crisis are now being sold for over 8 million euros.”
“I accept that inflation has to be factored in, but for costs to double over six years ? In contrast, rail freight rates have changed very little over the same period. What will happen when the current, ageing fleet of locomotives needs replacing?” He added that retrofitting work was becoming extremely expensive too. “We are currently paying 800,000 euros for an ETCS 3 retrofit. Is that normal?”